Marine Corps Base Quantico --
They remain two distinct entities, but Marine Corps Base
Quantico and the neighboring Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico have officially
partnered up with smoother daily operations in mind.
Per the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding that went
into effect on Oct. 1, MCAF has been realigned from Marine Corps Installations
East to Marine Corps Installations National Capital Region. According to the
agreement, MCAF, which is the home of Marine Helicopter Squadron One, is now
considered a subordinate installation to MCINCR. Nothing has changed for HMX-1.
The parties involved hailed the arrangement for making
more logistical sense as it officially makes MCAF Quantico part of the National
Capital Region.
“We are happy to be part of the MCINCR team and belong to
a region that has a good feel for Quantico-based challenges and opportunities,”
said Lt. Col. Vincent J. Ciuccoli, commanding officer, MCAF Quantico. “It was
always a good idea to include us in a region that governs the area in which we
operate.”
Col. David W. Maxwell, the commander of MCB Quantico who
also heads MCINCR, said the transition continues to go very well.
“The realignment of MCAF Quantico within the context of
MCINR kind of helps affirm the regional construct,” he said.
MCINCR-MCBQ is obligated to provide “administrative and
logistical support,” according to the MOU, while MCIEast, which is based out of
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, will continue to provide
aviation support for MCAF Quantico.
MCAF hopes to not be alone in joining MCINCR, according
to Ciuccoli. Other NCR commands such as Marine Barracks Washington at 8th and I
Streets could follow suit in the near future, although nothing is definitive as
of yet.
The deal, which first began coming together this spring,
was reached after extensive eliberations between Ciuccoli ; Maxwell; Brig. Gen. Robert F. Castellvi, commanding
general, MCIEAST-MCB Camp Lejeune; and Maj. Gen. Juan G. Ayala, commander,
Marine Corps Installations Command.
“It was the right mix of parties in the room,” said
Ciuccoli, who also credited the aviation background of Col. Allen D. Broughton,
chief of staff, MCINCR-MCB Quantico for helping move things along.
“We weren’t afraid of change. We knew that with change
comes challenges, but, with that, also comes opportunities.”
John Rosewarne, director, Business Performance Office at
MCB Quantico, said the transition has gone smoothly.
“Once the COs got together, then it became a simple
matter of staff planning,” he said.
Chief among the benefits of the realignment is the
streamlined logistics that will make for a better quality of life for MCAF
Marines, said Ciuccoli and his staff. Rather than have to route everything
hundreds of miles away through Camp Lejeune, MCAF officials said that things
have already become much more efficient and that it’s become easier to
coordinate logistics and information technology related business with nearby
points of contact at MCB Quantico.
“It really benefits us to be a part of MCINCR,” said Sgt.
Ellen Holland, logistics chief and barracks manager, MCAF.
Maxwell went further, saying the realignment improves
matters of joint security force protection and emergency response by
eliminating the “degree of uncertainty” that followed with two neighboring
installations answering to differing commands.
But the transformation hasn’t come without its
challenges, however.
Making sure the performance of HMX-1, which ferries the
president and other high-ranking dignitaries, never suffered as a result was
paramount to all parties involved. MCB Quantico lacks the aviation expertise in
matters such as maintenance or the aviation plans and policy oversight
necessary to assume that role for MCAF, so MCIEAST will continue in that role.
Likewise, if there were an aviation support-related problem in the past, MCAF
officials knew where to look at MCIEAST, which presides over three other
airfields on the East Coast, to get the problem fixed.
But working out the levels of coordination necessary to
clear those significant hurdles doesn’t come easily. Reaching a similar comfort
level with MCINCR will take time.
“It’s a work in progress,” Ciuccoli said.
jhollis@quanticosentryonline.com